snowshoe9

It was Sept 20, 2009 about 3:00 PM. My wife and I were in the early stages of working on a volunteer project building a modifdied box that would incorpoate a groove to accept a clip board. I was ripping the stock down to the correct width. I had a zero clearance insert in place as I was removing about 3/16" of material. Push stick sometimes or just using my right hand. Plenty of distance to push the stock through between blade and fence. I had done over 150 pieces.

Pushing the stock through and reaching around to bring the finished piece to a stack become to repetative.

I was interrupt with a phone call. Going back to the saw I started the process. Was it the first piece I did or the second? I don't remember. As I reached for the finished piece I do remember feeling the blade on my left hand.

I look down and saw a mass of blood on my left index finger and the end of my left thumb hanging loose.

I grabbed my hand and ran out of the shop screaming my wifes name and that I had "cut off" my fingers. Even in that moment I remember turning back to the saw, lifting my left leg and hitting the off switch with my foot.

A towel, my neighbor on the phone with 911. I was laying on the driveway cusing at my self any my stupidity. A kind police officer appeared with a first aid kit, I remember telling him that it was beyond a first aid kit. Fire arrived and then the ambulence. A clean towel and then transport to the hospital.

6 hours of surgery.

I lost the finger nail bed of my left thumb just short of the joint. The bones in my index finger and middle finger were shattered with tendon and nerve damage. I had two pins placed into index finger and two into the middle finger for six weeks to keep everything in place while the bones healed.

It has been five months. The the nerves are healing as I am beginning get the pins and needles feeling one gets after the hand or foot has gone to sleep.

The hardest is the theapy trying to bring the strech back into the tendons that were damaged. Right now the fingers are better than the doctor imagined. Even the physical therapist continues to be amazed at the flexabiltiy I have attained given the extent of the injury.

I know I was lucky. The feel of the blade, a spilt second down instead of up and the fingers would have severed.

What did I do I do wrong? To much repetition led to a contentment in my hand motion. It was a motion that did not expect or anticipate a variation until it happened.

My biggest wrong doing was in not having an outfeed table. I have one now. It was added before my wife and I resumed the project.

I am safer now mentally and physically when the table saw is used. More planning especially with repetative cutting.

Strange twist is that before my shop and my table saw any project I ever did was on a radial arm saw with no accidents.



Michael Pagelkopf
mjpagel@venturecs.net